Stinchcombe, Arthur L.: Rebellion in a High School

Cathy Borck

In the classic study Rebellion in a High School , Arthur L. Stinchcombe presents his theory of expressive alienation, which he defines as the psychological attitude that underlies rebellious behavior. The work has helped criminologists understand deviance and rebellious behavior among adolescents in high school. Strain theorists Robert Merton and Albert Cohen influenced Stinchcombe, whose work contributes to an understanding of youth delinquency, particularly in schools. Stinchcombe describes in detail the main tenets of expressive alienation, and he highlights the structural, cultural, and psychological underpinnings of this attitude. Rebellion in a High School presents the results of a study that was completed in a California high school with approximately 1,600 students. The school was located in a logging and sawmill town. Stinchcombe completed 6 months of anthropological observation followed by a survey of the student population. Seventy questions measured attitudes toward the school and toward future careers and also Stinchcombe ...

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